Richarlison nets double as Brazil stroll past Ghana

Richarlison scored twice as Brazil breezed past Ghana with a comfortable 3-0 victory in a friendly in Le Havre, France on Friday.

Brazil’s first-half performance gave fans plenty of reason to be excited by a young team heading into the Qatar World Cup when they will bid for a record-extending sixth title.

They dominated Ghana from the start with an aggressive pressing game featuring attacking players Vinicius Jr., Raphinha, Richarlison and Neymar, who delivered two assists.

Bullet header

Marquinhos opened the scoring after nine minutes with a bullet header from a corner by Raphinha.

Richarlison extended the lead 19 minutes later with a pin-point first-time strike from the edge of the area into the bottom left corner.

The Tottenham Hotspur forward added the third five minutes before halftime with a clever header from a free kick by Neymar.

“I hope that Brazilian fans believe in me more because here in the national team I score a lot,” Richarlison said. “I’m wearing jersey number nine and every time I wear it I’m scoring a goal. I come here, and I do my work quietly.” With victory assured and heavy rain falling in Normandy, the five-times world champions eased off in the second half as manager Tite sent on several substitutes.

Fine play

Antony almost scored the fourth in the 75th minute from a cross from Lucas Paqueta after a fine combination between the West Ham midfielder and Neymar.

The Paris St Germain forward played the whole 90 minutes as an attacking midfielder.

Neymar almost scored a brilliant goal in the 80th minute after sprinting past three defenders but sent his shot just wide and he lashed a stunning long-range strike past the post.

Brazil play Tunisia in Paris on Tuesday, their last game before their World Cup Group G opener against Serbia on Nov. 24.